Pune Porsche Car Accident Case | Father And Grandfather Of Minor Accused Sent To Judicial Custody For 14 Days

A court in Pune has sent the father and grandfather of minor accused of driving the Porche car involved in a collision which caused deaths of two persons to judicial custody for 14 days.

The two are booked under sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 368 (Wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement, kidnapped or abducted person), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) with 34 of IPC for allegedly pressurizing their driver to take the blame for the accident and wrongfully confining him in their house. The minor's grandfather was arrested on May 25, 2023.

The minor's father, a real estate developer, was already in custody in another FIR under Sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which pertain to willful neglect and supplying intoxicating substances to a minor. He is also under judicial custody in that case.

He allegedly allowed the minor accused, who did not have a valid driving license, to drive the car and permitted him to attend a party despite being aware of his drinking habits.

The police have also arrested two doctors and a staffer from Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, for allegedly manipulating the minor's blood sample to show that he was not drunk on the night of the accident.

The JJB had granted bail to the minor driver on May 19, 2023, hours after the fatal accident.

The bail conditions required him to visit the Regional Transport Office, study traffic rules, and submit a 300-word essay on road accidents and their solutions to the Board within 15 days.

The Board also directed the minor's parents to ensure he does not engage in similar offenses in the future, undergoes counselling, seeks help to quit drinking, and is kept away from bad company.

However, on May 22, 2024, JJB remanded the teenager accused to an observation home till June 5, 2024. The JJB had also rejected the plea to try the minor accused as an adult.

The incident occurred on May 19, 2024, when the 17-year-old son of a prominent Pune builder, allegedly driving a Porche car under the influence of alcohol, lost control and hit a motorcycle in the Kalyani Nagar area. The collision resulted in the deaths of two individuals who succumbed to their injuries on the spot. As per the FIR, the Porsche car did not have number plates.

The FIR against the minor was registered under sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving), 337 and 338 (causing hurt by endangering life), and 427 (mischief) of the IPC. He is also booked under sections 184 (driving dangerously), 119 (duty to obey traffic signs) and 177 (general provision for punishment of offences) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Subsequently, additional sections have been invoked against the minor including section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act (driving by a drunken person).

On the night of the incident, the accused and his friends allegedly consumed alcohol at Cosie and Blak establishments between 9:30 pm and 1 am. The fatal accident occurred around 3:15 am when the group of friends was returning from a party.

A Pune court on May 21, 2023, sent three other accused in the case to police custody until May 24, 2024. The arrested individuals are Naman Prahlad Bhutada, owner of Cosie hotel, Sachin Katkar, bar counter manager at Cosie, and Sandip Sangle, manager of Blak club. They are accused of serving alcohol to the juvenile who was allegedly driving the car involved in the fatal accident.